1. Field of the Invention
In general, the present invention relates to pop-up toys and similar novelty devices having resilient bodies that enable the toy to pop up after having been compressed. More particularly, the present invention relates to toys and novelty devices having components made from braided sleeves.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the toy industry, a pop-up toy is the name commonly given to a class of toys that pop up after having been manually depressed. Such toys commonly have coil springs and suction cups. The spring is manually compressed until the suction cup can engage the surface under the toy. The compressed spring acts to free the suction cup. When the suction cup loses suction, the energy stored by the spring is released and the toy jumps or ‘pops’ up into the air. Such prior art pop-up toys are exemplified by U.S. Pat. No. 1,657,936 to Nebel, entitled Jumping Figure Toy, U.S. Pat. No. 7,140,945 to Dinhofer, entitled Gyrating Toy; and U.S. Pat. No. 2,224,456 to Janas, entitled Toy Doll.
In recent years, toy manufacturers have been becoming more concerned with product safety. Traditional pop-up toys that use compressed springs have certain inherent safety concerns. First, it is difficult to permanently attach a suction cup or a plastic novelty object to a metal spring. If a child pulls upon a traditional pop-up toy, as often happens, the spring detaches, therein exposing a sharp metal point. Furthermore, exposed metal springs have a tendency to pinch skin when compressed. Exposed metal springs also have a tendency to become entangled in a child's hair.
In the long history of toys, pop-up toys have been made that do not utilize metal springs. Such spring-free pop-up toys are typically made by forming a concave shape out of an elastic material. The concave shape is manually deformed into a convex structure, therein storing potential energy. At the moment the toy moves from its convex shape to its normal concave shape, energy is released and the toy pops into the air. Such non-spring pop-up toys are exemplified by U.S. Pat. No. 2,153,967 to Davis, entitled Jumping Toy and U.S. Pat. No. 4,152,863 to Kubiatowicz, entitled Popper Toy.
A problem associated with prior art spring-free pop-up toys is that it is very difficult to attach secondary objects, such as character heads, to the toy and still have the pop-up toy function correctly. A need therefore exists for a new structure for a pop-up toy that does not use metal springs, yet enables the popper device to be configured into a variety of novelty shapes. This need is met by the present invention as described and claimed below.